Auntie has started claiming that the BBC is the “cultural equivalent of the NHS”. That must explain why Lucy Walker, editor of Newshour, is trolling the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Twitter. That famous BBC impartiality on display again…

UPDATE:And the tweet has now magically disappeared down the memory hole. Just like that in a puff of pixels…

UPDATE:Perhaps Lucy was advised of the BBC Social Media staff guidelines:

Personal social media use –

a) A useful summary has always been and remains: ‘Don’t do anything stupid’. Considering you’re on show to anyone who sees what you do on social media, another way of summarising it would be: ‘You’re a BBC journalist; act like it.’

b) The need for care applies all the time, on all services, regardless of ‘privacy’ settings, the intended audience, or if it’s a ‘direct’ or ‘private’ message. Posts on sites like Facebook, or Direct Messages on Twitter, that you may think are restricted can be easily and quickly shared with much wider audiences. Assume anything you do or say can be seen by anyone.

c) If you’re editorial staff, it doesn’t make any difference whether or not you identify yourself as someone who works for the BBC. It’s fine to say where you work in bios and ‘About’
sections. It’s good to talk about what you do. But the handle, name or main title of your activity shouldn’t include ‘BBC’, to avoid giving the impression what you’re doing is somehow
part of official BBC output (unless it is – see below). You should make clear that any views expressed are personal, and not those of the BBC.

d) You shouldn’t state your political preferences or say anything that compromises your impartiality. Don’t sound off about things in an openly partisan way. Don’t be seduced by the informality of social media into bringing the BBC into disrepute. Don’t anonymously sanitise Wikipedia pages and similar websites about the BBC. Don’t criticise your colleagues. Don’t reveal confidential BBC information, including sensitive stories or deployments you or others are working on. Beware revealing information that may risk the safety of you or your colleagues. If you’re deployed to sensitive or dangerous places, switch off functionality on electronic devices and social media services that reveal your location.

Quote of the Day

Paul Dacre on the Daily Mail’s future support for Brexit…

“…what moves me most are the countless messages from readers worried about whether the Mail will continue its support for EU withdrawal. My answer to them — and others — is unequivocal. Support for Brexit is in the DNA of both the Daily Mail and, more pertinently, its readers. Any move to reverse this would be editorial and commercial suicide.”